Something you can learn. For you.
http://ec.europa.eu/transport/road_safety/vehicles/doc/cargo_securing_guidelines_en.pdf
Only one problem with this its got āEuropeā at the beginning so I didnāt look any further!
green456:
whilst you didnt post a direct link it was obvous to most people on here that you had a vested interest in trying to use scare tacticts in an effort to drum up business
just a little bit too much like ambulance chasers
Iām not seeing that to be honest. What i do see is many people carrying on ācommonā work practices that are actually not only unsafe but illegal. Infact iāve been guilty of it myself. Iāve never had load training from any company whatsoever. Iād doubt many have, we just follow what the others have done before us, and what seems the norm. Forgetting the DCPC , its any employers responsability to train you for the job youāre doing. Who is to blame if i follow the accepted practices of everyone else and get done for an insecure load? It will be me getting the fine. What wonāt happen is that the employer gets into any trouble for it, or for not training me what to do . The only time the employer will get in any trouble for it is if there is an accident and a HSE investigation. Itāll be a fun few years with VOSA fining guys for unstrapped loads whether they need it or not,simple questionā¦is it secured?.. no iām not interested whether its empty cans or crisps, is the load secured? And youāll be getting a ticket !!! Just another money making scam, if there was a genuine interest in saftey then theyād be visiting premises and advising on loading before they got out onto the road with it. They could also maybe fine the vehicle operator if there is no load restraining equiptment available too .
I found it slightly (only slightly) annoying to be accused of scare tactics and blatantly touting for business. The initial information I posted was courtesy of my membership of the FTA - which actually cost quite a bit. I thought it was kind of me to share 
All I was trying to do was give a wake up call to the drivers I see out on the roads everyday endangering themslves and others. The loads I have seen are to me unbelievable and that is generally without pulling the curtains back. i hope the guy carrying the train track finds a way to do it a little more safely due to this thread - and i didnāt even charge for the training he received 
The law clearly states a load MUST be secured to the vehicle - no matter what. Just as it states a break from driving must be taken before or immediatly after a certain amount of driving. Some drivers worry they are 1 minute over said limits - some donāt care if they are 20 minutes over (probably because they havenāt been caught yet and work for a boss who just donāt give a ā ā ā ā ). it is the same for load security. it either is secured to the vehicle - or it isnāt. Thatās without getting into whether it is sufficiently secured. You will either complete the journey safely - or you wonāt 
VOSA have now issued some kind of guidance to their troops. This determines what action they take and its pretty clear cut.
Right - Iāve had enough now. off to count all my loverly takings from my over-priced not really needed training course 
See ya
Gembo:
This thread has got me thinking, so would you strap this lot down?
This is scrap rail track, rail. Our wagons have drop sides, the load is obviously never any higher than half way up the sides as I run out of pay load capacity before I do volume with this stuff. 30 pieces of 20 feet long is 10 ton and no one has ever bothered strapping down scrap rail before on these. The open sides in the middle of the bed are obviously in the closed position when in transit. Unless you turned the truck upside down, it stays where it is.
What if the truck did end up on its side, a few straps might prevent lengths of steel scattering all over the road and off the edge of a bridge onto a live carrige way below.
there is no such thing as an over secured load why take the risk for the sake of a few minuites and a few straps
Yes the rails have stayed where they are up to now but thats not to say that they sont move in the future like the sheet of steal that moved on the flat, it might have been fine untill the point it moved but the fact is sooner or later it will move
Having had a fairly lengthy telephone conversation with shep532 re his DCPC courses, have to say he certainly does not come accross as know-it-all clever beggar out to rip drivers off from his very reasonable course fees.
Anyway, #onwardsā> What I want to know is this: light, or sometimes even not-so-light double stacked loads of a height that the forkie can only just manage to slip it under the pelmet. How is one supposed to get a strap over them - from the ground?
(Iām used to sliding roof euroliners with no internal straps).
I can only think that one would have to climb on the trailer bed whilst its being loaded (often not allowed) and thread a strap through the upper pallet?
Mike-C:
green456:
whilst you didnt post a direct link it was obvous to most people on here that you had a vested interest in trying to use scare tacticts in an effort to drum up business
just a little bit too much like ambulance chasersIām not seeing that to be honest. What i do see is many people carrying on ācommonā work practices that are actually not only unsafe but illegal. Infact iāve been guilty of it myself. Iāve never had load training from any company whatsoever. Iād doubt many have, we just follow what the others have done before us, and what seems the norm. Forgetting the DCPC , its any employers responsability to train you for the job youāre doing. Who is to blame if i follow the accepted practices of everyone else and get done for an insecure load? It will be me getting the fine. What wonāt happen is that the employer gets into any trouble for it, or for not training me what to do . The only time the employer will get in any trouble for it is if there is an accident and a HSE investigation. Itāll be a fun few years with VOSA fining guys for unstrapped loads whether they need it or not,simple questionā¦is it secured?.. no iām not interested whether its empty cans or crisps, is the load secured? And youāll be getting a ticket !!! Just another money making scam, if there was a genuine interest in saftey then theyād be visiting premises and advising on loading before they got out onto the road with it. They could also maybe fine the vehicle operator if there is no load restraining equiptment available too .
I think you need to seperate the issue of common sense and training.Thereās no way that anyone can train someone without common sense and thereās no way that any driver without common sense should be driving a truck with a heavy load on it anyway.
The difference in this case seems to be the type of driver who needs to ask the question of āwetherā a load needs to be sucured,in the sense of chaining/strapping it down,compared to the one who starts asking questions related to the fact that he āknowsā it needs chaining/strapping etc down but just wants to know the best way to go about doing it.
The former type really need to be taken off the road quick before someone inevitably ends up being a statistic of the results of their zbād up thinking.
The problem is that there seems to be nothing in the new VOSA guidelines or operational advice that differentiates those two types and removes the former risk while doing something to help the latter.It seems obvious from my own experience when I started that the information required was more available by asking questions or sorting it out for myself.But thereās no way that anyone can learn that by not having a reasonable common sense attitude to the job to start with.If someone has the attitude that the curtains of a curtainsider or the sides of a drop side truck are sufficient and the correct method to hold a load on a truck then thereās not much point in going any further with trying to argue with them or show them.
Which certainly would have been the result in my case doing my first job with a 7.5 tonner.I was given the truck and told what to take and collect.Iām sure that had I not been one of the latter examples when I was given the keys and started asking questions instead of just attempting to take an unsecured load out on the road that would have been the end of my career right there and then beacuse itās obvious to me now that part of the test in allowing me to carry on was the guvnor and experienced drivers on the firm seeing wether Iād ask first without them having to say anything and needing to stop me going any further.
Driveroneuk:
Anyway, #onwardsā> What I want to know is this: light, or sometimes even not-so-light double stacked loads of a height that the forkie can only just manage to slip it under the pelmet. How is one supposed to get a strap over them - from the ground?(Iām used to sliding roof euroliners with no internal straps).
I can only think that one would have to climb on the trailer bed whilst its being loaded (often not allowed) and thread a strap through the upper pallet?
If you are getting loaded from one side, say the passenger one, then throw a strap over the roof then hook it onto the drivers side so it is diagonal from drivers side floor to passenger side roof, then when the forkie loads the pallets the act of pushing them over drops the strap down the side of the pallets.
Driveroneuk:
What I want to know is this: light, or sometimes even not-so-light double stacked loads of a height that the forkie can only just manage to slip it under the pelmet. How is one supposed to get a strap over them - from the ground?(Iām used to sliding roof euroliners with no internal straps).
I can only think that one would have to climb on the trailer bed whilst its being loaded (often not allowed) and thread a strap through the upper pallet?
Internal straps - although not normally rated to any capacity internal straps are intended for use on high volume low weight loads of the type you describe. Obviously those straps arenāt always there depending on trailer design or spec (as you pointed out). As I said they arenāt rated to a weight capacity though and are only considered load constraint - they will help stop the items moving or getting moving.
The other method described above sounds like a pretty good common sense approach.
I would consider perhaps put the strap over the pallet before it is lifted up, tuck the ends in somewhere so the strap travels with the pallet/load whilst it is loaded. Once the pallet (or whatever) is in place release the strap ends and position accordingly - I have done that many times. Of course the forkie gets upset 'cos youāre taking so long but you could always work ahead of him prepping the load.
if the load does a good job of blocking itself in - i.e no gaps and tight up against the headboard and each item then the straps are only preventing sideways/upwards movement and increasing the friction between load and vehicle. A lot of times a load will stay where it is until something breaks the friction between the load and the load bed - (i.e it jumps up over a bump) which light loads are prone to. the load then ājumpsā and so shifts.
A ānot-so-lightā load - double stacked to that height ā¦ well Iād hope your boss wouldnāt take the job on Clearly needs 2 vehicles for safety reasons - twice the profit Some things just shouldnāt be done, but as long as a driver turns up and gets on with it nothing will change.
I know of a collection point loading pallets of bottled water. Each pallet is close about 800kg and lightly wrapped. Nightmare to carry and worse to secure. They wonāt allow the driver to be present during loading. they wonāt allow the driver to strap the load up on their premises (because a driver fell once and died). So the driver has to close the curtains and drive off their site to find somewhere to stop - probably at the side of the road - to secure the load. Absolutely stupid. needless to say we only did one collection and wouldnāt do it again ā¦ obviously someone took over the job and unless they had great negotiating skills and got the rules changed - they are still doing it that way now.
I suppose the issue is about the driver being given the time and equipment to do it properly. 10 minutes and no equipment just aint gonna work. Sometimes the loaders need to work with the driver and assist. Surely it is in their favour the load gets where its going in one piece.
Carryfast:
The problem is that there seems to be nothing in the new VOSA guidelines or operational advice that differentiates those two types and removes the former risk while doing something to help the latter.
Although VOSA may claim to be there to help - I have never known them offer advice UNTIL you are already in the ā ā ā ā . then they like to preach.
The guidelines make things simple for enforcement. They almost give yes or no answers. The problem was you would have VOSA saying the load wasnāt secure. it goes to court and Mr Judge who knows nowt about load security has a driver/operator of 20+ years experience arguing with a VOSA guy thatās never loaded a wagon in his life ā¦ chaos.
With the guidlines it is quite straight forward.
What type of Load
Was there a gap to headboard and if so how big
Was there any load security
etc
But note the guidelines do not mention fixed penalties or anything other than PROHIBITION or ADVISE. my experience so far has been a couple of wagons prohibited until someone turned up with some straps and sorted it and Iāve had a couple of drivers getting a bollocking at the side of the road, a lecture on life, made to secure the load with the equipment they had with them but hadnāt used( ) - then sent on their way with VOSA having made a note to contact the operator. I can see VOSAs point when the driver has the equipment with him but didnāt use it 
VOSA will never EVER come to your yard and tell you how it should be done - because if there was then an accident the operator would turn round and say "VOSA said ā¦ ". In the same way the HSE will never actually tell you how to do something. they just look at your risk assessment and say āOK - I think you have it coveredā. Then when it later goes wrong prosecute you because your risk assessment was insufficient and clearly lacking because the accident happened. VOSA will say it has to be secured - they wonāt tell you how.
its a no win situation Iām afraid.
However - having the guideline they are working to is a starting point - like having the answers to the exam question - you just havenāt got the working out showing how you got the answer.
Oh ā¦ and hereās the video I mentioned somewhere back near the beginning of this thread.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prkzj528xXQ No special effects or great acting but it is a reconstruction of a real incident
shep532:
Oh ā¦ and hereās the video I mentioned somewhere back near the beginning of this thread.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prkzj528xXQ No special effects or great acting but it is a reconstruction of a real incident
the thing with that video, the timbers werenāt set out right. so strapped or not, the load would have shifted anyway.
Frankydobo:
Only one problem with this its got āEuropeā at the beginning so I didnāt look any further!
Have this one if it matters for you :: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roads/vehicles/vssafety/safetyloadsonvehicles.pdf
I even like this one more as it is better explained and has better pictures.
shep532:
Oh ā¦ and hereās the video I mentioned somewhere back near the beginning of this thread.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prkzj528xXQ No special effects or great acting but it is a reconstruction of a real incident
There is a question as to wether itās right to think that the headboard of all types,in all cases is always going to be good enough to hold every type of load in the fore and aft plane considering the weight and forces involved.
Iāve often thought that it would be better if there were some decent anchorage points put through the floor at numerous points across the load deck so that loads like those in the video can be chained/strapped down in the fore and aft plane in just the same way as in the sideways plane. 
Carryfast:
shep532:
Oh ā¦ and hereās the video I mentioned somewhere back near the beginning of this thread.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prkzj528xXQ No special effects or great acting but it is a reconstruction of a real incident
There is a question as to wether itās right to think that the headboard of all types,in all cases is always going to be good enough to hold every type of load in the fore and aft plane considering the weight and forces involved.
Iāve often thought that it would be better if there were some decent anchorage points put through the floor at numerous points across the load deck so that loads like those in the video can be chained/strapped down in the fore and aft plane in just the same way as in the sideways plane.
A headboard is usually constructed to withstand 40% of the load the vehicle can carry up to a max of 5t - usually. Obviously some trailers or vehicles are specified with a higher capacity at extra cost.
If you were to go through the proper load retention calculations taking into account the co-efficient of friction of the materials and trailer floor etc you would also take into account the load capacity of the headboard (Iād use the 5t) and you would find you would need extra forward motion lashing to help support the headboard anyway (in most cases). Or sufficient over lashings to do the same.
There is though definitly something to be said for having any load up against the headboard and reducing or eliminating gaps between parts of the load. The less chance the load gets to get a run up - the less chance it will join you in the cab
The video had a load with a gap to the headboard AND loaded above headboard height - a common sight out on the roads. it was being above the headboard killed the driver - and the fact it was only roped and sheeted
As for anchorage points - couldnāt agree more. Check out most continental trailers and youāll find lashing points all over the place compared to trailers for the UK market. Securing the load for forward and rearward is always the most awkward and some form of lashing points would help and encourage the use of them.
Hi all, I will to often relying on the curtains only to secure a load. I will also admit that occasionally I have got it wrong and wished I had spent the extra time to put the odd strap over the load rather than clearing up the trailer bed. But:
Today I sat a CPC training module which covered this topic and can identify with the Phrase āI have just been very luckyā however my motive to post is to thank Shep for raising this topic and to clarify a few points as I now understand them.
VOSA are initially working towards improving load safety while training and rolling out this legislation and will in the not too distant future set out fixed penaltyās and prohibitions I am sure I saw a different table today that was slightly more complicated and more severe than Sheps link from the RHA. I was also shown the video he refers to, Not pleasant.
Ratchet Straps are the only acceptable means of securing a load to a vehicle Ropes sheets and even internal straps are no longer adequate nor are Rope Hooks to be used to fix ratchets to, great news for those of you with ratchets with D rings instead of hooks, you are all going to get shiny new ratchets.
I have been aware of VOSA,s loading from the bulkhead policy for several months but it looks like thatās going to be a fact sooner rather than later. I drive a 4x2 European low liner plated to 40t and keeping the weight off the pin is a nightmare. VOSA advise we should carry stacks of extra pallets to pack out the gap on the headboard as required. I wont explain to you the problems this will cause. I too have encountered many sites where you are not allowed to mount the trailer to secure the load and even one or two like mentioned where you must leave the site first.
As for the advice of throwing the straps over the roof if loading from one side, Great that works well but infuriating if you are not allowed up on the trailer to set the straps while being loaded as you have to open both sides and in my case remove the board as well. If your load cannot be pushed over from one side that doesnāt work nor does putting the straps over the pallets while they are on the ground. Most of these rules will be unworkable in real life and we the drivers will be again piggy in the middle being shafted from both sides but the best advice all day and I cant explain how ANGRY it makes me is strapping fragile loads i.e. half full soft cardboard boxes of contact lenses stacked neatly on pallets,
are you ready for this one ājust put a strap over it but donāt do them up tightā at least it looks like you have done something. The reality is they do not need securing 5-7t the complete trailer full with no gaps. We cant damage the goods but we must secure them. WHAT with a loose strap. Be Afraid Be Very Afraid
In honesty I did learn some things from the course today and I will take that knowledge with me however in real world general haulage operations I think most of it will be pretty unworkable to the letter with bosses getting frustrated and taking it out on us yet again or did I say that already. A lot of my loads could be through the back door and has to be side loaded to allow strapping to lashing points for the continent as it is not permissible to strap to the raves or chassis at least in Germany so I guess I have a head start on most of you guys. Incidentally the Training books for Vosa have been written by a woman from the HSE Laboratory where I am assured they have spent years testing to detruction and hours collating evidence from the roadside both on routine stops and from incidents involving load security issues
shep532:
Oh ā¦ and hereās the video I mentioned somewhere back near the beginning of this thread.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prkzj528xXQ No special effects or great acting but it is a reconstruction of a real incident
All those highly trained emergency guys,and nobody sugested to pull the pin and pull the unit out,never mind at least they did chock the wheelsā¦
Wow, quite some post for your first. Welcome to Trucknetuk V6nce. 
I think the key word you have used is āunworkableā!
Whatās needed is to get a senior member of VOSA out on the road for a day or two with a driver on general haulage and get him to do all the strapping whilst the driver stands there with his hands in his pockets. Its the only way they would realise the practicalities.
v6nce,we have been told the same,INTERNAL trailer straps are no longer suitable as means of restraining the load,due to the weak point being in the top of of the roof of the trailer,and made of tin,or attached to a metal pole,if the trailer turns over,the connection would break easily.
Does this count as secure?
Driveroneuk:
Having had a fairly lengthy telephone conversation with shep532 re his DCPC courses, have to say he certainly does not come accross as know-it-all clever beggar out to rip drivers off from his very reasonable course fees.Anyway, #onwardsā> What I want to know is this: light, or sometimes even not-so-light double stacked loads of a height that the forkie can only just manage to slip it under the pelmet. How is one supposed to get a strap over them - from the ground?
(Iām used to sliding roof euroliners with no internal straps).
I can only think that one would have to climb on the trailer bed whilst its being loaded (often not allowed) and thread a strap through the upper pallet?
I agree with this. Iāve read the advise some have given, but itād be even more of a danger, a strap put over a pallet thatās going on the top of a double deck trailer, then dropping it down the sides from 15ā up?? How is the driver to get up there to get the strap ends when itās 15ā, Iām only 5ā8, can reach about 6ā8 into the air, so about 8ā6 short of where the straps areā¦ Iāll climb onto the 3ā bed then, oh waitā¦
Also, internal straps are not considered security, good, theyāre a pain in the harris anyway, especially on double deck trailers where the adjuster for the strap is just too damned high to reach, meaning the strap is set too long or short, meaning itās as much use as a chocolate teapot.
One thing I did notice in Sheps post, and Iām going to copy / paste it all and āboldā the bit I meanā¦
shep532:
about 18 months ago I attended a course regarding Load Security that was held at the Health & Safety Laboratory in Buxton. This is part of the HSE and is used to generally carry out research in order to be able to advise Government etc.Whilst there the trainer told us that she had recently been working with VOSA and was devising a training plan so that all VOSA officers could be trained in load security with a view to better roadside enforcement.
Whilst I have since heard some stories regarding VOSA stopping curtainsiders and checking loads etc - I havenāt heard a great deal and I thought this issue might have dropped by the wayside. Apparently not and I have just seen the below from the FTA
QUOTE
The Vehicle Operator and Services Agency (VOSA) is introducing training for enforcement examiners with a focused approach on securing of loads, enabling them to identify high-risk loads. This will be rolled out from April 2012. The aim is to promote clarity and consistency for operators in enforcement of load securing. The initiative has been in development for some time, following a campaign in early 2010 by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and VOSA when enforcement examiners inspected the loads of vehicles to ensure that they were being transported securely. Similar spot checks took place in early 2009. Both campaigns highlighted concern that significant numbers of vehicles were found to have loads which were not sufficiently restrained.
During the past two years an industry-led working group, which includes representation from FTA, has been involved in discussions with VOSA and the Health and Safety Laboratory (HSL) to review current load securing practice. This made recommendations for VOSA enforcement staff to be adequately trained in assessing load securing and drafted guidance for operators, consignors and drivers which will be representative of, and coincide with, the training and guidelines given to VOSA examiners. The guidance, funded and published by HSL and supported and endorsed by the industry working group representatives, will be launched at this yearās CV Show in April. VOSA has produced a draft matrix to assist examiners in assessing load securing methods. The matrix distinguishes between various types of load and has three categories of severity for assessing load securing. Any problems concerning the securing of the load will be assessed against the matrix and may result in prohibition action (P) for higher risk circumstances or an advisory notice (A) for minor problems.
HSE research has shown that unsafe loads on vehicles cost UK businesses millions of pounds in damaged goods each year. Vehicles carrying unrestrained loads are also a safety risk to their drivers and other staff involved in loading and unloading them. On the road they also pose a danger to other road users and the public at large. An unrestrained load can significantly increase the risk of vehicle rolling over or spilling its load onto the highway.
To protect drivers and other road users, the (Road Vehicles) Construction and Use Regulations 1986 indicate that loads must be secured, if necessary by physical restraint other than their own weight, so they donāt present a danger or nuisance. VOSA can enforce a range of regulatory powers, including prohibiting the continued use of the vehicle if they feel there is serious risk to other road users, workers or to the driver and has stated that operators who are currently complying with the Construction and Use Regulations should see no difference in VOSAās enforcement policy from April. Minor problems in the way vehicles have been loaded and secured will be dealt with through advice rather than enforcement action wherever possible.The āmatrixā they refer to is currently here http://www.fta.co.uk/_galleries/downloads/loading_of_vehicles/vosa_enforcement_matrix120307.pdf - I donāt know how long this document will remain available.
Obviously most drivers take load security seriously but my experience shows some simply close the curtains and take their chances. Whilst none of the above is an actual change to the current law/regulations - it does show that VOSA are moving towards better enforcement of these rules. VOSA will clearly be changing their tactics in the near future and hopefully the above is of use to someone.
Pete
Right, anyway, simple question. Pallet Networks the country over, lots of double deck trailers, you open the curtains, drive into a place and hide in your cab for 45 mins, drive out of the place, then youāve got a trailer full of pallets that youāve now got to secureā¦ HOW? Itās a simple question? How are we supposed to do that?